Let’s face it, there’s just no substitute for a good chocolate chip cookie. They are the ultimate comfort food. The bittersweet chocolate pieces floating in a buttery, sweet dough with a hint of salt. Just enough to make you want both more cookies and a big glass of milk. Nothing can replace the ooey-gooey goodness that comes when you break apart a warm cookie to reveal a swinging bridge of melted dark chocolate. In addition to the unsurpassed yumminess, the recipe below offers a few nutritional benefits over your typical chocolate chipper.

Mix together flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

Cream softened butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar, gradually adding canola oil until you have a smooth batter. Add vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds scraped from the inside of the vanilla bean. Beat in eggs one at a time. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture to make slightly firm dough. Add chocolate chips and chocolate pieces and nuts, if desired.

Chill dough for half an hour or more. Drop spoonfuls out onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

This recipe uses half whole wheat – instead of all plain flour – for a little whole-grain goodness. While it does use some butter, half of that has been replaced with canola oil – for a little break on the saturated fat. It also uses a little more vanilla than some recipes AND a vanilla bean for a little extra oomph. If you haven’t used vanilla beans before, you are in for a treat. Simply take a knife and slit the bean down the middle. Lay the bean out flat and use your knife – or a non-sharp butter knife – to scrape the goo (also called caviar) from inside. If you don’t have or can’t get a vanilla bean, don’t worry. The extra vanilla extract will add enough extra flavor for you to notice some difference. Last, but certainly not least, are the dark chocolate chunks. You can use any kind of dark chocolate, but some of the ones with a higher percentage of cocoa melt a little differently than one might like in a cookie. These are also harder to chop or chunk. Dove Promises cut smoothly and melt evenly while giving you those wonderful dark chocolate antioxidant and flavanoid benefits.

Of course, everything in moderation. If you don’t have a crowd to share these with now, drop them in freezer bags and toss in the freezer for a super-easy treat later.